


A Viennese Tumble

by sirtsulni



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, Soft Friends, Zine: P5 Sleepover, getting caught in the rain, published zine piece, the boys all love each other dearly, theyre best friends
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-30
Updated: 2019-07-30
Packaged: 2020-07-20 12:42:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,927
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19992391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sirtsulni/pseuds/sirtsulni
Summary: This is my P5 Sleepover Zine piece published now that the zine is being sent out!!





	A Viennese Tumble

Akira listens to the rain pounding against Leblanc’s windows as he finishes up with the dishes from that day, mind wandering aimlessly. Soft footsteps from the attic above only lend themselves to the cozy atmosphere, and the corners of the teen’s lips quirk up as he remembers the quiet day he and Yusuke had spent together. The artist had shown up at the cafe early, and was sheepishly treated to a lunch of curry from Sojiro while Akira was being woken up by an irate Morgana. The day had passed in a whirl of reading and watching documentaries together, chatting back and forth about things they found impressive or interesting as they were either curled together for comfort or settled between the other’s legs.

  
At the same time as Yusuke begins to descend the stairs to leave, a flash of lightning splits the sky, followed by a crash of thunder and something slamming into Leblanc’s door. The impact rattles it in the frame, but not even a moment later, it’s wrenched open to reveal Ryuji, soaked from the tips of his blond hair to the soles of his tennis shoes.

“Hey.”

It takes all of Akira’s willpower to not burst into laughter at the sight, and he busies himself by heading to get a towel for his poor friend. Yusuke has stopped on the steps with his bag over his shoulder and snickers slightly when he sees the state the blond is in.

“Ay, don’t laugh at me! It coulda happened to anyone!”

The artist grins as he sets down his bag and nudges Akira upstairs to find Ryuji a dry set of clothes as he takes over the towel quest.

“Yes, but it always seems to happen to you.”

  
Ryuji doesn’t have a response to that, but he huffs dramatically and leans into his warmth when Yusuke drapes the towel around his shoulders, a soft smile hinted by the curl of his lips when the artist closes it around him securely.

  
“Come, take your shoes off and change into something warm. I am sure Akira has something suitable.”

  
Ryuji allows Yusuke to lead him upstairs and Akira hands him some soft, worn in lounge clothes, and soon all three of them are in the attic and warming up. Water drips into a bucket from the rafters where Ryuji’s clothes are hanging to dry, and Yusuke has taken it upon himself to towel-dry the blond’s hair, sitting on the bed with Ryuji sprawled on the floor between his legs. The blond is humming quietly, pleased, and lets out a pleased groan whenever Yusuke really rubs his scalp or gently curls his slender fingers around his jaw to get him to turn his head. Akira is leaning back against the wall, his foot gently nudging Yusuke’s ribs in an effort for closeness, content with the present company.

  
With the heater a constant hum in the background and the pattering of rain against the small window, they almost miss the knocking downstairs. Yusuke pauses his ministrations with the towel against Ryuji’s head, which in turn makes the blond crack an eye open for a moment, displeased, just in time to see Akira rush downstairs.

  
The bell on the door chimes quietly, a prelude to a loud snort and a softer voice, and two pairs of footsteps start coming up the stairs. Curled under Akira’s arm is a sodden and downcast Goro, and the other two immediately get up to help. Within moments, Goro has warm, dry clothes pressed into his arms and his soaked clothes have been hung up next to Ryuji’s. Akira has retreated downstairs to make drinks for them all and by the time he comes back up, the detective has been given Ryuji’s spot between the artist’s legs to have his hair gently dried and combed. The aforementioned blond has taken it upon himself to set up Akira’s old game console and is explaining to an enraptured audience what the different buttons do in the fighting game he’d conjured up out of seemingly nowhere.

  
Akira passes out the cocoa and coffee and settles on the floor close to Goro and Ryuji, his shoulder bumping against Yusuke’s trim leg. He watches his friends interact for a moment, inhaling the steam from his coffee, and lets a soft smile curl the corners of his mouth up as he settles his temple against Yusuke’s thigh, watching them closely. The detective’s eyes are half-lidded in contentment from the gentle hands in his hair, but they’re sharp as he soaks in everything Ryuji is saying, nodding occasionally. Slightly less attentive, but still paying attention, the artist has begun to weave braids into Goro’s hair after untangling it, and sometimes pipes up with a question about the way the characters on the screen moves or design differences between two mechanically equal ones.

  
After fishing up enough controllers, the four of them take rotating turns playing as trios in tournaments and trying out different characters to see who they like playing as the most. Ryuji, used to winning and being the most experienced in gaming, is flushed and flustered as Yusuke manages to fling him off the screen for the second time that round, just before Goro hits Yusuke’s character and does the same to him with a shout of triumph. The three of them are pretty evenly matched, and they play for about an hour before Ryuji flops back against the old makeshift bed and Goro’s shoulder and admits defeat, tossing his controller into Akira’s lap, startling him from his reverie. He fishes his phone from his pocket as the other boys debate the aesthetics of one of the sword fighters, and scrolls through his texts until one makes him stop and groan.

_“Haru: I hope you’ve been perfecting your dancing skills, Ryuji-kun! The ball is coming up soon! Ann-chan sent me a picture of your suit and you look very handsome, so make sure your dancing matches that! (≖ ‿≖ ✿)”_

  
Akira pauses the game and they all turn to look at the blond, whose skin is tinged pink and has covered his face with his hand.

  
“Forgot I hadta learn how to ballroom dance for Haru’s charity ball next weekend... Even got my suit ‘n everythin’. She asked how it’s been going.”  
Goro tilts his head slightly, crimson eyes narrowing a little as a bit of his silken hair slips out of one of Yusuke’s beautiful braids.

  
“And just how has it been going?”

  
Ryuji glares for a moment before sticking his tongue out at the other boy like the adult he is. Goro rolls his eyes fondly and stands up, dusting off his borrowed sweatpants before offering a hand out to the blond.

“I take that to mean you haven’t even begun to learn?”

  
Ryuji scowls but nods, and allows the older boy to drag him to his feet, calloused fingers meeting calloused fingers, both of them worn from their former days handling weapons in the Metaverse.

  
“Then I will teach you. It’s much too late for you to learn properly from a teacher that doesn’t know you, and I have known how to at least waltz for many years.”

  
Akira snorts from somewhere behind Yusuke, but stops when Goro’s eyes narrow and he trains his gaze on the quiet, raven-haired boy.

  
“You haven’t started either, have you?”

  
He has the grace to at least look a little sheepish, and doesn’t fight it when Yusuke stands and offers his hand to Akira much like Goro did for Ryuji. The artist offers him a slight smile as he helps him up and pulls him close, oblivious to the physical boundaries set in place by society.

  
“Wonderful! I know for a fact that Yusuke has an impeccable waltz, so you are also in good hands--er, arms?”

  
Both the Shujin students roll their eyes at his joke, but oblige and listen carefully when they’re being given instructions for how to move their feet and where. The detective’s instructions are clear and concise, and his voice is patient as he repeats the steps at Ryuji’s request. He hooks a slim ankle around Ryuji’s and guides his socked foot forward, placing himself in the role to be led.

  
“This is just a simple box step, okay? You can get away with just knowing this, but I think I’ll teach you a little beyond that if you’re willing.”

  
Ryuji nods, and Goro gives him a bright smile before unhooking their ankles and quietly giving him details on how to move their feet together and where to turn. The blond only steps on Goro’s feet twice, but since they’re both in socks, they just snicker quietly and continue, Ryuji’s face going a little pink from embarrassment. His tongue pokes out the corner of his mouth as he concentrates, eyes aimed directly down at their feet to watch his movements.  
On the other side of the small attic, Yusuke has given Akira much simpler instructions.

  
“Feel where my body is going to go and follow. It takes two to do this, yes? Follow my movements and fit yourself in properly and in time.”

  
The artist whisks Akira directly into the movements, quietly giving him tips as they move.

“Do not worry about stepping on my feet. Keep your shoulders back, and your chin and eyes up. Do not watch your feet--good, Akira.”

  
Yusuke guides their hands to clasp on one side and for his shorter friend to settle his hand just below Yusuke’s shoulder, his own resting on Akira’s back.

  
“Now move.”

  
Soon, Yusuke and Akira are twirling around the room with the occasional misstep from the beginner, but they both have wide grins on their faces. Just as they pick up speed, Goro catches Ryuji watching them and smirks, straightening up and getting the blond’s attention.

  
“Shall we?”

  
He gets a sharp grin in response, and they begin to move. Ryuji’s steps start out careful and unsure, but he soon gets a hang of it, and they find themselves in tandem with Akira and Yusuke, all four of them laughing as they try to skirt around the edges of the furniture in their admittedly small learning space. As the two beginners get comfortable with the movements and their roles, Goro and Yusuke meet eyes and grin at each other over their partners’ heads and in sync, they switch spots. In an impromptu twirl backed by the soundtrack of thunder crashing, Ryuji finds himself being caught by Yusuke instead of Goro, and Akira in his place in Goro’s hold.

Caught up in the excitement and sudden switch, Akira gets turned around and ends up leading his crimson-eyed friend the wrong way, and they bash straight into Ryuji and Yusuke, sending them all into a giant tumble of long limbs and laughter.

  
“Aw, c’mon man!”

  
Akira just swats at him playfully before untangling himself and helping Goro stand, immediately pulling him close to start in on the dance again. Yusuke and Ryuji follow suit, even if they take a little while longer to find their rhythm together and move in tandem with the two grinning wild cards.  
They’re all so caught up in the night of fun and dancing to the music of the storm that none of them see Akira’s phone lighting up with messages from an eavesdropping Futaba.

  
_“Gremlin: wtf r u doing ur so loud u fkn losers”_

  
Then not even a minute later:

  
_“Gremlin: dumbasses--dont hurt each other too much, u kno haru will still make u go in a full body cast~”_


End file.
